I started my writing career after completing an MA degree in translation in 1994 and subsequently working as a staff translator for a number of multinational companies; I still translate all manner of documents from German into English.

It was a chance trip to the pyramids in 1999 that put me on the road to travel writing. That gave me all the incentive I needed to chuck in the office job, stuff some t-shirts into a backpack and head for Heathrow with no real plan of action. The six-month adventure that followed would take me to India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and Japan.

Returning to the UK, I realised I might be able to combine my background in writing with this new-found love of travel. The first publication to accept one of my articles was Hello magazine. Before long, I was covering stories for nationals with six-figure readerships such as the Daily Express and the
Evening Standard.

I have always tended to sidestep mass-market destinations in favour of off-the-beaten-track places that receive little coverage. The Explorer column of the Independent has provided an excellent outlet for these ambitions, allowing me to bring the fabulous Izu islands of Japan and the remote Cordilleras mountains of the Philippines to a wider audience; the Daily Telegraph also gave me the chance to draw attention to the Sounkyo winter festival, which remains the weirdest and wonderful-est thing I can remember seeing.

Remaining a backpacker at heart, I have contributed to the independent travel site Travelmag as well as Rough Guides , the prestigious London-based publisher of guidebooks for independent travellers, for whom I have updated various chapters of the Rough Guide to Southeast Asia.

More recently, I have started writing for English Zone , a Tokyo-based magazine for English learners that requires a simplified (but never patronising) style of English.